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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wax · clip · land · stock · pass · bulb · drill · key

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pass — a permit
  7. key — the most important part
  8. drill — army training
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. key — in music
  11. bulb — for light
  12. drill — a practice
  13. land — a country
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. land — ground
  17. stock — goods
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. land — to come down
  21. drill — the tool
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com